Stars And Flowers
by starscriptmage
Summary: "I'll make you happy," Natsu whispered in her ear gently, as if she were made of glass and a breath any stronger would cause her to splinter to pieces. After waiting for so long, the big day has finally arrived - though not without some hitches. NaLu. Marriage fic. Dedicated to amehanaa.


This monster took a total of FIVE MONTHS TO WRITE. I don't even know how that happened, man. I was lazy and unmotivated.

My first NaLu fanfic! After five years in the fandom! I feel ashamed that I didn't write for my otp sooner, but here you go. This one is dedicated to amehanaa, whose stories were the first few NaLu fics I ever read and still remain close to my heart.

Cover image is by rboz, who is one of the most amazing contributors to the FT fandom. She draws wonderful fanart, and I suggest you go check her out!

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" _I'll make you happy,"_ Natsu whispered in her ear gently, as if she were made of glass and a breath any stronger would cause her to splinter to pieces.

Though she did her very best, Lucy could not describe with words exactly how happy she was at the moment. Even though half her dress was burned to a black, smoldering crisp (courtesy of Natsu choking on his own spit when Makarov led her down the aisle) and the other half was drenched in water (thanks to her maid of honor, who'd panicked and forced the solid script 'Water' into existence - and Juvia, who'd summoned a blast of water out of nowhere), her smile couldn't possibly glow any brighter. There was a continually swelling of joy in her heart that refused to disappear or even deflate, and her hands shook slightly even now, with the coldness of the ring slipping onto her finger rapidly growing warm from Natsu's own shaking palms.

Dimly she realized that both Makarov and Mavis were bawling their eyes out in the background: Master in relief that nothing had gone wrong yet, and Mavis with pure joy. There was no surprise when Lucy saw the grooms and bridesmaids mingling together instead of standing in orderly lines. She turned slightly and grinned at the sight of Levy sniffing into Gajeel's arms, Gajeel trying to contain his own tears by scowling fiercely, Laxus awkwardly patting a sniffling (but widely smiling) Mira, Juvia hugging Gray with a death grip that was making the ice mage's face turn green, and said ice Mage yelping in surprise when he noticed the absence of his clothes. The guests from their rivaling guilds were all present, most of which were sobbing their eyes out, or pretending that they weren't sobbing their eyes out. The floor beneath Lucy's feet, silky-smooth from the layer of cherry blossom petals Wendy, Chelia, and the Exceeds had strewn across the ground before her entry, buckled as her knees suddenly went weak at the realization that this was real.

She was the lucky girl. She was the one blessed with this beautiful privilege. She was going to become the wife of this amazing person, the significant other of no one other than _Natsu Dragneel._ Part of her couldn't believe it - after all this time, she'd never even suspected that her Prince Charming would come with fire breath and a dorky grin.

But who'd have known, really?

And who needed a knight in shining armour when she had a dragon boy that was swearing to cherish, love, and care for her, as she did he?

Lucy lifted her eyes, the sound of children's delighted giggles and the branches of pink blossoms rustling relaxing her painfully throbbing heart, and gazed in speechless wonder at the cloudless blue sky above them. Her eyes suddenly warmed with tears as she reminisced on all they had gone through, every last event leading to this day, every minute that had brought her closer and closer to Natsu, every moment that had slowly snipped the threads of loneliness restraining her. This was what she'd been waiting for, what she'd been anticipating. And amidst the trials and tribulations she and her beloved guild had risen above, Lucy Heartfilia finally found a place and a person she could call, without any hint of hesitation, home.

A calloused, yet soft hand touched her cheek and pulled her back down to reality, where a boy in a white scarf and a dragon's temperance smiled mischievously at her, his nose wrinkling as he gave her such an intense and tender look that shivers ran down her spine. Lucy gave the wide expanse above her one last glance, praying inwardly in her heart that her father and mother could see her now, and took Natsu's hand in hers. Under her cloud-white gown, her heart thrummed pleasantly like a bird spreading its wings.

The priest, clearly rattled by the sight of the unruly crowd before him, cleared his throat awkwardly. As they exchanged their vows quietly, Lucy laid her palm on top of the loudly bawling Romeo's head and whispered gently into the young ring bearer's ear. Then, when she straightened, she heard Natsu's voice again, solemn and low, utter the two words that tied the strings of fate.

Try as she might, she could not contain herself this time. Tears trickled down her flushed cheeks, staining her dress and dripping on the backs of Natsu's hands. A ripple of laughter ran through through the crowd, coupled by a nearly inaudible whimper from Makarov ("Nothing's gone bad yet, _this is unnatural_ ").

"Oi, flame idiot, you've just finished your vows and you've already made your wife cry?" Gray called out grumpily, crossing his arms - not an easy feat, as Juvia was clinging tightly to his side.

Natsu grinned in his direction, and to all of Fairy Tail's utter shock (and bemusement - the guild was bound to use this one as blackmail material), the dragonslayer _himself_ was openly crying from pure, uncontainable happiness. Natsu Dragneel. As in the 'Salamander'. As in the adopted son of a _dragon._ Crying from joy.

Despite the wet trails running down his face, he gave the gaping priest a cheeky smirk and pulled Lucy down in a flurry of white, pink, and gold. Lucy closed her eyes and felt her brain short-circuiting and her entire face flaming a brilliant crimson and the hands cupping Natsu's jaw start to tremble and her knees going weak, but she didn't care. All she knew was that the everyone was whistling simultaneously and that her Stellar Spirits were clapping furiously and roaring their approval and that Natsu's tears were droplets of hot fire against her cheeks.

All too soon, Natsu pulled away from her, his eyes shimmering with excitement and mischief, and he cupped a hand over his mouth, grinning at the audience.

"TAKE THAT, SUCKERS!" he bellowed, smirking at both Gray and Gajeel, who managed to look both scandalized and proud at the same time. "I GOT MARRIED BEFORE YOU TWO, WHICH MEANS I ACTUALLY HAD THE GUTS TA PROPOSE, UNLIKE _YOU_ POOR LOT! HAHAHAHA! IN YOUR FACE!"

"You little - " began Gray furiously, stomping forward, but Natsu continued on cheerfully, waving his hand vaguely at the two of them.

"I'D BETTER BE CHOSEN AS HEAD GROOM FOR _BOTH_ YOUR WEDDINGS, DAMMIT, AND IT BETTER BE _WITHIN THE YEAR_ , DO YOU HEAR ME?! HALF MY EARNINGS ARE PLACED ON YOU AND YOUR GIRLFRIENDS!"

Gajeel and Gray suddenly found themselves pinned to the spot by their respective girlfriends' unblinking stares, and the whistles and catcalls increased even further, to the point where it was no longer about the two mages - it concerned all the guilds. Evergreen suddenly found herself being shoved into Elfman's chest by a madly cackling Bixlow, and with an indignant screech and a mighty kick, the puppet master found himself lying, startled, underneath a rather winded Lisanna. Hibiki discreetly pushed Loke in Aries' direction, and received an ungraceful nudge in Jenny's direction by Ren, who turned to look at Sherry, and mutter, "It's not like I wanted him out of the way so we could spend more time together... " Al and Bisca bent down to whisper encouragement into a slightly traumatized Asuka's ear as Erza picked Jellal up in her arms, bride-style, and began to parade him around the crowd.

"That's more like it," Natsu chuckled as the crowd went wild. He eyed Mira a little dubiously though, when Laxus began to inch discreetly in her direction and received a fist in the back from his still-violently weeping grandfather. Choking, the dragon slayer stumbled and fell right into Mira's surprised (and extremely affectionate) arms.

In spite of her tears, Lucy giggled, and felt a finger poke her cheek gently - or, at least, what Natsu would deem gentle.

"What are you lookin' at?" Natsu whispered in a deep, raspy voice that would've made her cheeks redden had it not been for the tinge of accusation. He pouted a little huffily and leaned closer to her ear. "This is _our_ wedding, you know, not anybody else's, so what do you want to do?"

"I don't know," Lucy replied, blinking in surprise. "What do _you_ want to do, run away, or something?"

A grin the size of Fiore radiating naughty intent spread swiftly across the dragonslayer's face, and he took her hand, squeezing it eagerly.

"That's the first good idea I've ever heard come out of your mouth," he told her, and she smacked his arm lightly, scowling.

"What do you mean, the first - _eep!_ "

He hadn't even waited for her to complete her playfully indignant sentence. Sweeping her up in the air in one smooth movement, he sent her a troublemaking smirk that made her heart skip erratically, but her smile faded when he hurled her upwards.

" _NATSU DRAGNEEL, I SWEAR TO MAVIS_ \- "

Lucy floated, airborne, for a few precious moments before landing neatly in Natsu's arms in a bridal carry that nearly squeezed the breath out of her lungs. Somehow, she couldn't seem to make herself remain angry at him, though, not when he was looking at her like that. The world suddenly jolted as he ran down the steps of the altar. Wind rushed past her, loosening her hair out of its intricate twists, as they ran for it, dodging the members involved in the NaLu betting pool clustered around a slyly smirking Mirajane; hopping over the unconscious (and beet-red) Juvia, who was now sporting an impressive diamond ring on her finger; and were about to scoot away from the rising chaos when the pink-cheeked Lisanna shouted loudly, "The bride and groom are getting away!"

Bixlow, whose grip around her waist had not slackened in the past, say, fifteen minutes, flapped his hand dismissively at the crowd.

"Let 'em do whatever they want," he drawled, smoothing back his hair and giving Lisanna a look that made her face turn the shade of ripe tomatoes. "It's their wedding, after all."

"Darn right it is," Natsu replied as he skidded past the blue-haired mage. He flashed Bixlow one of his signature grins. "I want to see _you_ up there soon, too, so don't take too long."

"Wha - " the man sputtered, and his puppets wheeled around his head dazedly as Freed muffled a rather forced cough.

"Hey," Max protested, pushing his way through the throng. "Jet! Droy! Naab! Reedus! Laki! Catch those runaways, they're getting away!"

"Don't see why I should," Jet muttered mutinously, glowering at Levy's crimson ears and Gajeel's admittedly rosy complexion. He stomped over to help himself to some more punch, only to crash right into a fiercely snogging Al and Bisca. "Oh, _ew._ Not another happy couple."

"Don't you order me around, Max," Laki grumbled darkly, tossing her hair over her shoulder. She caught Jet, who was just about to sprint home and drown his sorrows in his pillow, by the collar and began to drag him over to the cake. "I don't care if Natsu and Lucy don't cut the cake, I want some _right now_ , and you're going to have some too if you know what's good for you."

Natsu let out a free-spirited hoot as he sprinted past a desolate Makarov. "See ya, Gramps! Sorry we couldn't cut the cake, maybe you can do it!"

If Makarov heard, he didn't show it. He was too busy wailing into the tablecloth to.

" _Natsu_ ," Lucy chastised, but she was smiling uncontrollably as well. "Master, please tell everyone that we ordered a bunch of extra treats from the bakery. They're all welcome to stay for the evening banquet, as well."

"There's also a _banquet_?" Makarov sobbed, gasping in horror at the offer. His eyes bulged in shock, and he buried his face into his hands, moaning. "My ancestors are stirring in their graves! _I'm_ stirring in my grave, and I don't even have her! And Mavis is stirring in her - in her whatever! We're doomed… all of us…"

Lucy only giggled at this - he was probably right.

She should've known not to expect a normal wedding. This _was_ Fairy Tail, after all, there was literally no such thing as normal here, and they loved the guild all the better for it.

"Isn't this how your fairy tales end, Luce?" Natsu said, setting her down carefully on the ground. "There we go. Can't be carrying the princess the entire way, y'know, seeing as she _can_ run by herself, and because she weighs a freakin' - "

"Don't even end that sentence, Natsu Dragneel," Lucy said, half-laughing and half-sputtering. She brushed off her dress, her cheeks reddening as she looked up at her fiance - no, husband. "And yes, I can run by myself, thanks very - _mph._ "

The cherry blossoms that she had once seen passing under her window one lonely night in the midst of celebration danced on their branches and she closed her eyes, relishing in the way her arms fit perfectly around Natsu's neck, and the way he had tucked one hand behind her ear. Her eyes flew open and she smothered a grin when she saw the way Natsu's face was flushed pink.

"Shy, much?" she teased, patting his head.

"Never," he replied easily, his dimples appearing. "Now, Lucy _Dragneel_ , you still haven't answered my question. Isn't this how your fairy tales end? With the prince running away with the princess into the sunset, to a happily-ever-after?"

Lucy took a deep breath, her hands resting peacefully on the sides of her husband's still-warm cheeks.

"You're mistaken, Natsu." Tucking a flyaway strand of hair away from his temple, she then pulled away and grabbed his hand with a new energy. "They don't end that way. _You_ should know by now - you've read most of my manuscripts, most of which without permission, might I add. The prince and the princess, escaping together to a new future? That's not how a fairy tale ends."

They ran, without restraint or worry about what tomorrow would bring, their two shadows linked and their laughter resounding through the pink-framed path, until they entered the bustling village: out of breath, out of coherent thought, and completely filled with an irreplaceable, indescribable sense of bliss nestled in the corner of their hearts.

"That's how they begin."


End file.
